A Report on Project Management: Introducing a New Product - Assignment Example

A Report on Project Management: Introducing a New Product Name Institutional Affiliation Date Table of Contents Table of Figures 2 Table of Tables 3 List of Abbreviations 3 Introduction 5 Work Breakdown Structure(WBS) for the Project 5 Activity Network and Critical Path for all Activities 8 Normal Time, Crash Time, Normal Cost and Crash Cost of each Activity 10 Activities to be Crashed and the Crash Cost 10 Conclusion 12 Reference 13 Table of Figures Figure 1: WBS Chart 7 Figure 2: Activity Network Diagram 8 Table of Tables Table 1: WBS List 6 Table 2: ES, EF, LS, LF and Float 8 Table 3: Normal, Crash Time, Normal Cost and Crash Cost 9 List of Abbreviations Abbreviation Meaning WBS Work Breakdown Structure ES Earliest Start Time EF Earliest Finish Time Ls Latest Start Time Lf Latest Finish Time Introduction Both big and small project requires the concept of project management (Render, Stair & Balakrishnan, 2006). For instance, when introducing a new product, there are several steps involved. These steps ensure that the project is run smoothly, and the resources are exploited optimally without leaving importance project elements (Baldwin & Bordoli, 2014). Therefore, this research report will implement project management techniques in introducing a new product. In purview of this, a new table design shall be considered. The report evaluation elements will involve the creation of a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) for 10 project activities, development of activity network and critical path, identification of the normal and crash time for the project, as well as, the normal and crash cost for each project activity. The project will consider the development of a new table design. Work Breakdown Structure(WBS) for the Project WBS is a valuable tool for communicating and recoding the project deliverables and its sub-deliverables, and what has been achieved (Gould, 2012) and (Render, Stair & Balakrishnan, 2006). When the deliverables have been identified for every element, it is easy to determine the required resources (Lockyer & Gordon, 2005) and (Ottosson, 2012). For instance, the design of a Table entails 10 activities which are grouped under five main deliverables. The main deliverables include designing of the table, acquiring materials, constructing the table, finishing the table, and installing the table. Under table design we have preparation of dimensions and working drawing. Acquiring material entails calculations of materials needed and purchasing of those materials from supplies. Further, there are two activities involved in constructing the table, and include preparing the parts, cutting the top to size, turning the legs and assembling the table. Prior to installation, the table is finished by performing two main activities, that is sanding and staining the table. This information can be represented by a WBS. The WBS is of two forms: list format and the chart format. The list format is shown in Table 1 whereas the chart format is shown in Figure 1. Table 1: WBS List Figure 1: WBS Chart Activity Network and Critical Path for all Activities The activity network was done in excel as shown in Figure 2 bellow. Figure 2: Activity Network Diagram From the Figure above, critical path is represented by the red arrow. That is, A, B, D, E, H, I, J, and K. The project completion time is 12 days. In this case, the critical path represents the longest duration the project can take. It is worth noting that the activities on critical path cannot be delayed and a delay of any activity on it means delaying the entire project. Further, critical path can be determined by use of float. Float or slack refers to difference between ES and LF or ES and LS (Duff & Quilliam, 2010). The Table bellow illustrates the relation between ES,EF, LS and LF, as well as float. ACTIVITY DURATION ES EF LS LF FLOAT A 1 0 1 0 1 0 B 3 1 4 1 4 0 C 1 1 2 3 4 2 D 2 4 6 4 6 0 E 2 6 8 6 8 0 F 1 6 7 7 8 1 G 1 6 7 7 8 1 H 1 8 9 8 9 0 I 1 9 10 9 10 0 J 1 10 11 10 11 0 K 1 11 12 11 12 0 Table 2: ES, EF, LS, LF and Float Along the critical path, float is zero. Normal Time, Crash Time, Normal Cost and Crash Cost of each Activity ACTIVITY ACTIVITY NAME Normal Time Normal UNIT Cost (£) Crash Cost Crash Time Unit Cost of Crashing A Determination of the Dimensions 1 40 40 1 0 B Preparation of Working Drawings 3 140 300 2 180 C Calculation of the required material 1 40 40 1 0 D Purchasing of the material 2 360 1000 1 280 E Preparation of parts 2 70 140 1 0 F Cutting the top to size 1 70 70 1 0 G Turning Legs 1 70 70 1 0 H Assembling the Parts 1 70 70 1 0 I Sanding the table 1 35 35 1 0 J Staining the table 1 35 35 1 0 K Installing the Table 1 10 10 1 0 TOTAL 15 940 1810 12 460 Table 3: Normal, Crash Time, Normal Cost and Crash Cost Activities to be Crashed and the Crash Cost According to Render, Stair & Balakrishnan (2006), the rationale for crashing a project is to reduce the project completion time. For example, if management is under pressure to install the new table, then crashing is the best option. The main consideration in this case is to identify the critical path. Since the critical path covers the overall project duration, then reducing the duration of any project along it will also reduce the project overall time. However, it should be noted that this can only be done at an additional cost. Management will have to employ additional personnel to perform urgent duties so that the project is completed early. From Table 3, the activities to be crashed are those along the critical path, and include B and D whose unit crash cost is £300 and £1000 respectively. This reduces the overall project completion time by 2 days, reducing the earliest project completing time to 10 days at a crash cost of £460. In orders words, when reducing project time, additional cost has to be incurred. This is the cost of additional labour so that the project is completed early. Assumptions Only activity B and D can be crashed Unit cost of crashing Activity B is £300 Unit cost of Crashing Activity D is £1000 Conclusion Therefore, this project considers a new table design. The work breakdown structure shows that the main activities are preparation of dimensions, preparation of working drawing, calculations of materials , purchasing of materials from supplies, preparing the parts, cutting the top to size, turning the legs ,assembling the table, sanding and staining the table, and installing the table. From the WBS, an activity network and the critical path are designed to include the ES, EF, LS and LF for all activities. What is more, the report identifies the normal time, crash time, the normal cost and crash cost of each activity. The activities are crashed, thus reducing the overall project cost but at an additional cost. The crash cost was found to be £460 more than the normal cost. Reference Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form BALAKRISHNAN, S., & PALIWAL, P. K. (2000). Staff management and information work. New Delhi, Anmol Publications. BALDWIN, A., & BORDOLI, D. (2014). Handbook for Construction Planning and Scheduling. Hoboken, Wiley. http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=1666532. DUFF, D., & QUILLIAM, J. (2010). Project Management - A Practical Guide. Dublin, Management Briefs. http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=1620520. GOULD, F. E. (2012). Managing the construction process: estimating, scheduling, & project control. Boston, Prentice Hall. LOCKYER, K., & GORDON, J. (2005). Project Management & Project Network Techniques: Seventh edition of Critical Path Analysis & Other Project Network Techniques. London, FT Prentice Hall. OTTOSSON, H. (2012). Practical project management for building & construction. Boca Raton, CRC Press. RENDER, B., STAIR, R. M., & BALAKRISHNAN, N. (2006). Managerial decision modeling with spreadsheets. Upper Saddle River, N.J., Prentice Hall. Top of Form Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Read More